Month: December 2018

ChoraChori is very proud to work with another small UK-registered charity, Unity in Health, in its management of child trauma in Nepal.

“Why don’t small charities pool their resources rather than having a situation of lots of them doing their own thing? Couldn’t cooperation, even merger, lead to economy of scale?” This is a commonly heard challenge and one that ChoraChori accepts up to a point. Whilst the identities and heritage of small grassroots charities can be a source of strength in themselves (engendering a family spirit within the team and its supporters), collaboration can certainly lead to reduction of waste and a tremendous synergy.

A case in point is our partnership with Unity In Health, which works alongside us in managing child trauma and mental health issues at our Children’s Refuge and Rehabilitation Centre (CRRC) in Kathmandu. Unity in Health has a central role in clinical support to our team at the child trauma management centre by Skype and through visits. Indeed, the Founder of Unity In Health, Joao Marcal-Grilo is in Nepal at the time of writing. His charity also covers the salary costs of one of the key staff members at the centre who will be heading up a Unity In Health inspired follow-up programme in the coming time. And last month, following a successful fundraiser in Singapore, Unity In Health was able to buy a jeep that has become a shared asset, with ChoraChori able to use it for field visits and to transport beneficiaries between their homes and our centre.

To read more about Unity In Health, see this very well-written article that has just been published. Partnerships are the way ahead in 2019. In a previous post we described the forthcoming collaboration with The Soroptimist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland and we are working on a further exciting partnership at the time of writing (watch this space!).

Before you leave this page please visit our Christmas Appeal and be prepared to be amazed at how we’re getting along. Then leave a little gift and share!

Remembering ChoraChori in your will is a low cost way of making a major difference to our future work in Nepal, transforming the lives of vulnerable girls for years to come. Here’s some advice.

A will is not something that we like to think about much, but any reputable Financial Advisor will tell you that it’s the first step in drawing up a watertight personal financial plan. Dying intestate passes on an administrative and emotional burden to loved ones that can take months or even years to resolve and result in an outcome that can be substantially to the benefit of the taxman. So, above all, please do write a will and take proper professional advice (i.e. a solicitor) to ensure that your final wishes are implemented properly and that there can be no disputes.

From a charity point of view, leaving a part or your entire estate to ChoraChori can reduce, and in some situations, eliminate your Inheritance Tax liability. If you leave something towards our work in your will, then it won’t count towards the total taxable value of your estate. This is called leaving a ‘charitable legacy’. You can also cut the Inheritance Tax rate on the rest of your estate from 40% to 36%, if you leave at least 10% of your ‘net estate’ to us.

To illustrate how this would work, let’s say that when you died:

your net estate was worth £425,000

in your will, you left it all to your partner who lives with you

you have your full Inheritance Tax allowance (currently £325,000 for the 2018/19 tax year)

you weren’t married or in a civil partnership (the spouse exemption is not available if you are not married)

thus, the ‘net estate’ is £100,000 (i.e. £425,000 minus £325,000). And there is Inheritance Tax to pay on £100,000 at a rate of 40%

so, your estate’s would have to pay a tax bill of £40,000 (i.e. 40% of £100,000).

But if you wanted to reduce the tax bill by making a charitable gift:

you’d leave your partner £415,000, and

£10,000 to ChoraChori in your will (which is 10% of your ‘net value’ of £100,000)

the estate would then pay 36% on £90,000 worth of assets instead. This means that your estate would pay £32,400 in Inheritance Tax.

While this would mean your partner receives less when you die, in this example making a charitable legacy would shave off £7,600 from the Inheritance Tax bill. This is worth considering if you’re keen to support us even after your death.

There’s of course nothing to stop you from giving to ChoraChori right away and any donation won’t be counted as part of your estate when you die. Again, this could cut or even eliminate any Inheritance Tax there is to pay upon death with of course associated Gift Aid benefits while you are still alive.

If you want to leave us a gift in your will, you can leave it either as:

a fixed amount of money, known as a ‘pecuniary legacy’

a share of what’s left of your estate once all costs and other legacies are paid out, known as a ‘residuary legacy’.

The former can of course effectively decrease in value between the time of the will being written and its being proved, so the latter may give a better reflection of your original charitable intentions.

When you are writing the will make sure that you, or the person writing your will, includes all the information your executor will need to understand what you want to happen. This should include:

a merger clause so if we have merged or ceased to exist, your executor can pay the legacy to the new charity or a charity with similar charitable values.

At the moment we would like to build a fund that will be primarily for the education of vulnerable girls in Nepal, including child rape victims, but of course programmes and priorities can change. So, it would help if interests are stated while leaving the final decisions to the discretion of the Trustees.

If you would like to discuss specific wishes or have any further confidential guidance please contact ChoraChori Founder Philip Holmes using this link.

Remembering ChoraChori in your Will December 2nd, 2018Philip Holmes

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